The present invention relates to a multipurpose tool, and more particularly, to a wallboard spotter having an integral screwdriver.
Wallboard (also called drywall or sheet rock) is mounted to studs using screws. To ensure that the wall appears flush, the heads of the screws are sunk into the wallboard approximately xe2x85x9 of an inch deep. A suitable mastic or joint compound is used to fill in the depressions left by the screws. The mastic is then sanded to ready the wall for painting or wallpaper.
Do-it-yourselfers typically use a putty knife to apply mastic in the depressions left by the screws. This is a relatively slow process. Professionals use a tool called a xe2x80x9cnail spotterxe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cwallboard spotterxe2x80x9d (more generically called a xe2x80x9cspotterxe2x80x9d) that allows them to quickly fill the screws holes with mastic.
Spotters come in a variety of different styles and are sold by a number of different manufacturers. For example, Columbia Taping Tools (Blaine, Wash.), TapeTech (Union City, Calif.), Premier Drywall Tool Co. (Stockton, Calif.) and Ames Taping Tools (Duluth, Ga.) all make different versions of spotters that have slightly different designs and functional attributes. Reference can be had, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,386, to Mower and U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,812, to Orosco et al. for a description of various spotters. In general, these wallboard spotters automatically dispense mastic or jointing compound to nail and screw depressions. Generally, the wallboard spotters have a cavity in which the compound is placed and a pressure plate or motorized mechanism is used to force the compound through an orifice to apply the compound to the wallboard.
A professional using a nail spotter occasionally comes across a screw that is insufficiently embedded or otherwise protruding from the wall. In such a case, the professional has to stop, take out a screwdriver and tighten the screw, before continuing use of the spotter. This process of using a separate screwdriver slows the professional down and disrupts the flow of applying mastic using the nail spotter.
During the installation of wallboard, it may be necessary to remove screws from a wallboard panel for various reasons. Removing screws from wallboard, however, may cause a portion of the paper surface of the wallboard to partially tear away from the surface. One way of treating the torn surface is to depress or push the paper strands into the hole left by the screw with a hand punch tool. Again, the process of using a separate tool, this time for treating a tom surface, further slows the professional down during the installation of wallboard.
The present invention is directed to a multipurpose tool that is typically used in conjunction with wallboard spotters.
According to one embodiment, a multipurpose tool comprises a screwdriver portion and a wallboard spotter portion for automatically dispensing mastic or compound to a wall by forcing the mastic or compound from a housing. In one illustrated example, the tool includes an elongated handle having opposed first and second ends. The wallboard spotter portion may be connected in any suitable manner to the first end of the handle. The screwdriver portion may be, for example, connected in a suitable manner to the second end of the handle.
The screwdriver portion may be a ratcheting screwdriver. The screwdriver portion can also be adapted to be removably coupled to the handle to permit use of the screwdriver independent of the wallboard spotter portion and the handle. In addition, the screwdriver portion can be provided with a removable, reversible bit having a screwdriver end and a blunt end for depressing partially torn strands of wallboard paper into holes left by nails or screws in wallboard.
This tool is advantageous in that a worker using the tool to apply mastic to a wall panel does not have to stop work to take out a screwdriver if and when the worker comes across a screw that is not sufficiently embedded in the wall. Instead, the worker can utilize the screwdriver portion of the tool to further drive or tighten the screw into the wall. If the screwdriver portion is adapted to be removable, the worker can remove the screwdriver portion for use and then quickly re-attach it before continuing the mastic applying process. In either case, the tool facilitates the installation of wallboard and reduces the time required for the application of mastic.
In another embodiment, a tool comprises an elongated handle having first and second ends. The first end of the handle is adapted for connection to a conventional wallboard spotter for automatically dispensing mastic or compound to a wall by forcing the mastic or compound from a housing. The second end of the handle is connected in any suitable manner to a screwdriver portion. Thus, in this particular example, the tool in one sense is a retrofit handle for a conventional wallboard spotter. A user can simply remove the existing handle of his wallboard spotter and connect the retrofit handle so as to form a tool having both a wallboard spotter and a screwdriver.
According to another embodiment, a multipurpose tool comprises a paper-pushing or hand punch portion for pushing torn strands of wallboard paper into holes left by nails or screws in wallboard. The hand punch portion is coupled to a wallboard spotter portion for applying mastic or compound to a wall. In one particular example, the tool includes an elongated handle, one end of which is connected in any suitable manner to the wallboard spotter portion and the other end of which is connected in any suitable manner to the paper pushing portion.
In yet another embodiment, a tool for installing and/or repairing wallboard comprises a main handle portion having first and second ends. The first end is connected in any suitable manner to an applicator end portion for storing and applying mastic or compound to wallboard. The second end of the handle is adapted to receive a conventional screwdriver.
According to one approach, a method of using a multipurpose tool for applying mastic or compound to a wall comprises applying mastic or compound to a wall using an automated wallboard spotter attached to one end of an elongated handle. Upon detecting a screw protruding from the wall, the elongated handle may be rotated or flipped from a wallboard-spotting position to a screw-tightening position wherein the end of the handle opposite the wallboard spotter is adjacent the protruding screw. The screw may then be tightened using a screwdriver coupled to the elongated handle opposite the wallboard spotter. After tightening the screw, the handle may be rotated back to its wallboard-spotting position so that the wallboard spotter can be used to apply mastic or compound. Consequently, rotation of the elongated handle back and forth between the screw-tightening position and the wall-spotting position may be accomplished without adjusting the user""s hands on the handle.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments, which proceed with reference to the accompanying figures.